Keep it Light
February 25, 2021 8:40 AM
Looking for fun lighting ideas for my newly renovated home office.
Just renovated my home office. I painted the walls white and the room gets some natural light. It has overhead lighting. When I'm on zoom meetings the overhead light overwhelms the screen. I can usually be seen with just the glare from the computer but I look like I'm sitting in the mouth of a cave. I am looking for some alternative, fun, lighting ideas. I don't want to get rid of the overhead lights nor do I want a desk lamp. i am looking for something in between the two.
Just renovated my home office. I painted the walls white and the room gets some natural light. It has overhead lighting. When I'm on zoom meetings the overhead light overwhelms the screen. I can usually be seen with just the glare from the computer but I look like I'm sitting in the mouth of a cave. I am looking for some alternative, fun, lighting ideas. I don't want to get rid of the overhead lights nor do I want a desk lamp. i am looking for something in between the two.
Seconding LED strips behind your monitor, especially if it allows you to change colors and color temperature. As a bonus, you may notice a reduction in eye strain with some backlighting behind the monitor.
posted by bedhead at 8:50 AM on February 25, 2021
posted by bedhead at 8:50 AM on February 25, 2021
The most literal interpretation of something in between the overhead lights and a desk lamp would be a floor lamp near the desk. There are a ton of creative and interesting floor lamp options out there. Take a look at Etsy, maybe.
Personally I have dedicated video conference lights on my desk, as well as a floor lamp. The video lights do a much better job of lighting my face up, but I definitely understand why you might not want to take that route. For times when I don't feel like using those, the floor lamp provides adequate lighting to get decent video without the "cave" look.
Also, it might be helpful to put the overhead lights on a dimmer, so you can leave them on a bit in addition to whatever other lights you have. When it's dark out, it's going to be hard to avoid the "cave" look if you don't have something lighting up the room behind you as well as your face. Unless it's a pretty small room, you'll probably need more than one light source for that, whether it's a floor lamp plus the overheads, or some other combination.
posted by primethyme at 9:26 AM on February 25, 2021
Personally I have dedicated video conference lights on my desk, as well as a floor lamp. The video lights do a much better job of lighting my face up, but I definitely understand why you might not want to take that route. For times when I don't feel like using those, the floor lamp provides adequate lighting to get decent video without the "cave" look.
Also, it might be helpful to put the overhead lights on a dimmer, so you can leave them on a bit in addition to whatever other lights you have. When it's dark out, it's going to be hard to avoid the "cave" look if you don't have something lighting up the room behind you as well as your face. Unless it's a pretty small room, you'll probably need more than one light source for that, whether it's a floor lamp plus the overheads, or some other combination.
posted by primethyme at 9:26 AM on February 25, 2021
I have this light in my living room and I *love* it. I wanted a soft lighting source but couldn't find a floor lamp that I liked. It puts out plenty of light, but definitely not the same level as overhead lighting. Probably equivalent to a floor lamp.
posted by lomes at 12:55 PM on February 25, 2021
posted by lomes at 12:55 PM on February 25, 2021
I like aim-able lights, clip on, or bendy, or whatever. For zoom, I aim the lights at the walls to get soft fill light.
posted by theora55 at 1:05 PM on February 25, 2021
posted by theora55 at 1:05 PM on February 25, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
You could mount an inexpensive ring light permanently -- e.g., on the top edge of your monitor, or on a pole at the back of the desk -- so that blast of screen glare isn't so overwhelming. (I bought one this week for like $18 that has three colors and a dozen brightness levels, just to ameliorate the Zombie Wash of screen light.) It would look like a halo. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 8:45 AM on February 25, 2021